HUNTER ILLEGALLY SHOOTS BEAR IN TREE IN VIRGINIA, BEAR FALLS ON FRIEND, KILLING HIM
Darwin Awards aren’t supposed to be transferable. Like, at all. Yet this story makes me think there should be some way to make that possible, especially as the just rewards didn’t land in the lap that deserved them. And the story is a doozy, and comes from Lunenberg County, Virginia. While I’m not familiar with the area, I am familiar with hunting culture. That being said, there’s some variety in that culture, with the dumbass contingent being prominent with stories like this. And the story is, a party of hunters in Virginia chased a bear, but were stymied when said bear climbed a tree. But one hunter decided to shoot anyway, and the dying bear fell from the tree onto the hunter’s friend, killing him.
Read More: California Now Has Predator, Carnivorous Squirrels
IN VIRGINIA, IT’S ILLEGAL TO SHOOT A BEAR THAT HAS CLIMBED A TREE TO ESCAPE, IS THIS WHY?
And no, it’s not a joke at all. This happened two weeks ago on December 9th. And while it’s definitely a tragedy, it was a totally avoidable tragedy. Because according to Virginia law, it is illegal “to cripple, harm or dislodge a bear from a tree for the intent of continuing a hunt, chase, or for the purpose of training dogs.” In other words, not that bears are conscious of this, if a bear climbs a tree to avoid hunters in the state of Virginia, it’s out of bounds for hunting. And when this bear climbed a tree, all of the hunters but one backed away, knowing the law. But it only takes one idiot, and this one shot the bear and caused the death of their friend.
Related:
HUNTER CRUSHED BY FALLING BEAR WAS A FATHER OF FIVE, WILL THERE BE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR SHOOTER?
The legally responsible hunter who was crushed to death by the bear was 58-year-old Lester Harvey, a father of five. And it’s worth noting that Mr. Harvey was standing about 10 feet away from the tree the scared animal climbed when it was shot dead and fell onto him. Another hunter in the party tried first aid, and Mr. Harvey was rushed to two different hospitals for treatment. But he died last week from his injuries. And yes, that’s why this story took some time to come out. Oddly, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources “isn’t currently seeking any charges related to this incident.”
Well, I bet that will teach whoever this idiot hunter was not to ignore the laws of the land. But I’m wondering if we’ll see a “wrongful death” suit in the news in the near future. It seems a slam dunk.
